We’ve been in Malawi almost three months now and are starting to get into more of a rhythm. Part of that rhythm is the frequency of posts. There are new posts scheduled for each Wednesday for the coming months so we have some regularity.
As any writer knows, finding your voice and speaking to your audience are distinct but related. People want to read a particular voice but if that voice is pitched to every person it loses its distinctiveness. We haven’t totally figured out the balance between these two but we have noted a tension. Personal stories like the My Cell Phone Saga resonate with some and more academic posts like The Problem with Missionary resonate with others. This makes sense as there are two different voices writing one blog and therefore they appeal to two similar but distinct groups.
With this in mind, we will start to introduce two parts to some posts. The first part might be personal or academic and will generally be no longer than 1000 words (our goal). The second part will relate to one of our driving questions: “What does it mean to be missionalaries in Malawi?” Those that want to read and enjoy the first part do not need to bother with the second. Others interested in some of the more theological and academic thoughts can read both parts. Neither part is aiming at an academic audience. That writing gets done off-blog.
As well, this website is our personal blog. We purchased the domain name and maintain it. We share our experiences here in Malawi and some of our thoughts. We hope that the blog is a thoughtful engagement with our cross cultural experience. The fact that we are here because of the Presbyterian Church in Canada will come out because that is a large part of our life here. The views expressed here are not the views of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The PCC has its own website where it will post some of our writings that it believes important to share.
We hope that these distinctions are helpful and honour your attention and time.
